Informal recycling site at river: Residents feel enough is enough

A makeshift recycling processing site set up by informal waste pickers has residents concerned as they claim crime and pollution in the area have soared.

The site is located in the wetland area next to the Hennops River at the intersection of the R101 Old Johannesburg Road and the M10 Wierda Road.

According to residents who attended a site visit last week Tuesday, crime had drastically increased since the traders moved in.

They said the traders had been caught with manhole covers and other stolen property, while the number of burglaries had increased.

Large amounts of trash transported to and dumped at the site before being sorted by the waste pickers also lead to pollution in the river, especially during heavy rains.

According to the ward councillor, Cindy Billson informal waste pickers set up shop on the open land since about 2021.

“It all started on the property on the corner of Wierda Road, [between] Saxby and Lorentz,” Billson told Rekord.

She said the previous site was located on privately owned land, while individuals not from the area allegedly encouraged the squatters to remain at the site.

“This later turned into a very violent situation where three cars were burned,” said Billson.

“Several people were arrested.”

Billson said crime and pollution of the land, river, and air from burning plastic and other waste were frequent complaints residents raised with her about the site.

“I get at least one complaint per day.”

The land at the site belongs to the Gauteng provincial department and is not in the ambit of the city to intervene directly.

However, according to Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy in a March 2022 written reply to questions from Mayor Cilliers Brink, Tshwane was assessing three alternative sites that could serve as a waste storage and sorting facility.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo told Rekord that the process was still underway.

“Tshwane metro is currently embarking on the process of assessing and investigating the alternative properties that are suitable for the development of waste storage and sorting facilities within the city including Region 4 [Centurion].

“The process is still underway and no site has yet been developed and allocated.”

Mashigo said the pollution at the site would continue until the root causes, such as illegal recycling, dumping, and illegal fires, are stopped.

“Therefore, environmental management inspectors, also known as “Green Scorpions” from the Tshwane Environment and Agriculture Management Department, have issued the owner of the site (Gauteng provincial department) with a pre-directive in terms of Section 28(4) of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), 1998 (Act 107 of 1998). They stop the said illegal activities at the site, and also appropriately fence it off once all illegal activities have been stopped and illegal inhabitants of the site have been removed.”

He said the purpose of the NEMA was to give effect to the Constitutional right for everyone to have an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being.

“Therefore S28(1) of the NEMA places a duty of care on every person who causes, has caused, or may cause significant pollution or degradation to the environment to take reasonable measures to prevent such pollution or degradation from occurring, continuing, or recurring.”

Mashigo said that this included the owner of the land in question.

“Until the above legal process has been finalised, the Tshwane metro will continue to collaborate with local NGOs to address the Hennops River pollution.”

Meanwhile, in a meeting at the site last week with former Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga, residents said that crime in the area had risen. They are also worried about the lives of the informal waste pickers who live at the site due to the proximity to the river.

Residents urged Msimanga and councillors to consider sustainable solutions that also include the responsible relocation of the informal waste pickers.

Since then, Billson and ward 70 councillor Marika Kruger-Muller, have drawn up a petition for urgent action to prevent illegal dumping and recycling in the wetland area on the banks of the Hennops River.

“We believe it is now imperative for the Gauteng provincial government to take swift and critical action to address this health concern,” the petition reads.

“The situation poses a significant threat to the environment, public health, and the integrity of the surrounding ecosystem. We implore the provincial government to take immediate action to rectify this situation to adhere to the relevant South African legislation.”

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